INDIA: Indian Activists' Rising Cloutby Jackie Range, Wall Street Journal August 16th, 2007India's Supreme Court is poised to decide whether a British
company has the right to mine in a sacred tribal forest, a case that underlines the complexity of undertaking large-scale industrial projects here. The case's hearing by the court reflects the growing clout of activist groups in India.

WORLD: We must count the true cost of cheap Chinaby Richard McGregor, Financial TimesAugust 2nd, 2007In the wake of the multiple scandals over tainted Chinese food and drug exports in recent months, Chinese goods now have an indelible image of being not just cheap, but life-threatening as well. But the fact that wrongly labelled foods, liquor and pharmaceuticals have routinely sickened and even killed people en masse in China has been largely overlooked.

US: Mattel Recalls One Million Toysby Louise Story , New York TimesAugust 2nd, 2007Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, is recalling nearly one million toys in the United States today because the products’ surfaces are covered in lead paint. According to Mattel, all the toys were made by a contract manufacturer in China.

MEXICO: Thousands of Unpaid Teens Bag Groceries for Wal-Martby Joseph Contreras, NewsweekAugust 1st, 2007Wal-Mart prides itself on cutting costs at home and abroad, and its Mexican operations are no exception. Wal-Mart is Mexico's largest private-sector employer in the nation today, with nearly 150,000 local residents on its payroll. An additional 19,000 youngsters between the ages of 14 and 16 work after school in hundreds of Wal-Mart stores, mostly as grocery baggers, throughout Mexico-and none of them receives a red cent in wages or fringe benefits.

US: At Home Depot, How Green Is That Chainsaw?by Cliffard Kraus, New York TimesJune 25th, 2007As companies rush to carry "environmentally friendly" products, Home Depot encourages suppliers to pitch to have their products included in its new Eco Options marketing campaign. Critics argue that the green label is overused and overmarketed.

US: Gag order for former Wal-Mart employee
CNN MoneyApril 9th, 2007Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) won a gag order to stop a fired security operative from talking to reporters and a judge ordered him to provide Wal-Mart attorneys with 'the names of all persons to whom he has transmitted, since January 15, 2007, any Wal-Mart information.'?

US: Fired Wal-Mart worker claims surveillance ops: reportReuters UKApril 4th, 2007The Wal-Mart Stores Inc. worker fired last month for intercepting a reporter's phone calls says he was part of a larger, sophisticated surveillance operation that included snooping not only on employees, but also on critics, stockholders and the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., The Wall Street Journal reported.